Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, diapers, adult incontinence products, and the like are designed to be worn in close proximity to the crotch of the wearer. Some absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins and adult incontinence products are designed to be affixed to the wearer's undergarment so as to remain proximal the wearer's genitals and/or anus. Other absorbent articles, such as diapers and diaper-like adult incontinence products, are designed with a belt-like system that anchors the absorbent article about the wearer's waist. In either configuration, as the wearer moves about his or her daily life, the absorbent article may shift relative to the wearer's body which results in the location of fluid entry into the plan of the absorbent article moving and may result in uncomfortable rubbing forces generated between the wearer and the absorbent article.
The human crotch region can be comprised of many different types of tissues. For instance, in women, the skin of the woman's labia can have a different texture than the skin in her pubic region or anal region. The labia of a woman wearing a sanitary napkin can be particularly sensitive to rubbing forcing created as the woman moves about her daily life. Thus, different portions of a woman's crotch are believed to have different needs related to skin care and comfort.
The shape of the source of fluid to be collected from the human crotch can also vary. For instance, for males, the source of urine is a small discrete opening of the urethra in the penis. As a male wearing a diaper moves, the location of the urethral opening can change relative to the location of the diaper, for instance as the diaper slides around, or as penis changes orientation depending on body orientation, for instance standing versus lying on ones back or side. That is, the location of fluid entry into the diaper can change.
In women, the vagina is a source of fluids such as menses. The opening of the vagina can be generally elongated from the woman's front to rear. The labia minora and labia majora are also generally aligned from the woman's front to back and surround the opening of the vagina. As a woman wearing a sanitary napkin moves, such as by walking, the location from which the vaginal fluid exits the labia majora may move relative to the location of the sanitary napkin. Thus, the location of fluid entry into the sanitary napkin can change.
In some absorbent articles worn in the crotch region, the topsheet, which is proximal the wearer's body and can come into contact with the wearer's body, is designed such that characteristics of one portion of the topsheet differ from the characteristics of other portions. For instance, certain portions of the topsheet of the absorbent article may be configured for collecting fluids and other portions may be configured to provide for comfort while wearing. For many materials commonly used in topsheets, optimizing the material for one performance characteristic, such as fluid acquisition, can result in adverse effects on other performance characteristics, such as comfort. For instance, topsheets having large apertures may acquire fluid more readily than a topsheet having small apertures but a topsheet having small apertures may retain fluid more effectively than a topsheet having large apertures when the absorbent article is compressed. Balancing tradeoffs in different aspects of performance can be difficult, particularly in light of the way in which the absorbent article moves relative to the wearer's body or portions thereof.
In light of the above, there is a continuing unaddressed need for an absorbent article comprising a topsheet of which a portion or portions are configured to deliver one performance benefit and another portion or portions are configured to deliver another performance benefit, the two configured portions being related to one another to achieve improved overall performance.